Avengers, Winchesters, and Robbers
by Baby Hedgehog-Cute but DEADLY
Summary: So. Kim's an alien. And a superhero. And Jack knows the Winchesters. And robbers decide to take over the mall.


**Can't even remember what inspired this anymore... XD This has been on my flashdrive for a while, and I decided to finish it instead of doing my APHG homework (which I will regret eventually). So, here it is. **

* * *

><p>For the first time in a long while, Kim awakens on her own volition.<p>

It is strange. She does not sense or hear anything; no alarms, no screams of terror, no evil maniacal laughter… nothing. It puzzles her. She has become accustomed to waking up to some sort of trouble occurring in the city that would require her to suit up and come to the rescue. She turns her head towards the window, realizing that the sun is what woke her up. Alarm shoots through her as she desperately searches for a reason why the great ball of flaming gas is so bright at this time of day. She finally comes to a somber conclusion:

The sun is broken.

She races out of bed to warn Jack, heart pounding. This same thing had occurred on her planet once before. The Dark Elves had "broken" the sun to cause mass hysteria within the people and then take over right after. Though it hadn't caused as much panic as they had hoped, the disruption of the sun's path had thrown off crop cycles for years and caused other nature-related problems. She fears the same thing has happened to Earth.

"Jack!" she exclaims, bursting into the kitchen. He jumps, startled and almost dropping what he is cooking in the "frying pan" (as he claims it is called on Earth) but she continues on without regard to his reaction. "The sun is broken!"

Instead of immediately dropping what he is doing and panicking, like she expects him to do, he puts a hand on his chest and sighs. "God, Kim, you almost gave me a heart attack."

She briefly forgets her worry to allow room for confusion, cocking her head to the side like she always does when she is introduced to a new Earthean tradition or expression. "I do not understand. I did not assault your heart."

"It's just a saying," he responds, before chuckling. "The sun isn't broken, Kim, you just woke up later than you're used to."

The panic subsides, and Kim is relieved. There is no crisis. She speaks much more calmly when she says, "Then the problem lies within me."

Jack shakes his head, a small smile on his face. "There's nothing wrong with you either," he assuages her. He moves back towards the counter that they use as a dining area in the small apartment. She notices that he has two plates set out there, both laden with food for them to break fast. It makes her wonder how long he has been awake. "I kinda soundproofed your room so none of that usual 'city in danger' crap would wake you up."

He motions for her to sit down, and she does. He sets the pan (the contents of which she has now identified as "scrambled eggs") down nearby, sitting down across from her. "I decided that you're going to take a break today."

She stares at him as he starts eating. A break? Why? Yes, she may occasionally become fatigued, but it is never anything that a short rest can not relieve. "What do you mean?"

She senses nervousness coming off of him in waves, waves that only intensify at her question. "You've been working to protect the city with no regard to your own wellbeing, Kim," he says softly, staring down at his plate. "I… I'm scared it may end up being too much for you." He looks up at her. "You need a break every now and then, Kim. This, this going out every day, stopping crime left and right? It's great and all, but do you realize how it's affecting _you_?"

She cocks her head to the side slightly, frowning. "What does it matter how it affects me? I am unable to return to my own realm. I may as well do something worthwhile here. I am protecting the people. That is all I care about."

"That's the _problem, _Kim. It's all you care about." He hesitates, before reaching a hand forward and placing it over hers. "You're tired all the time, you have bags under your eyes, you're slipping during fights, you're stressed and jumpy… It's only a matter of time before you pass out, or you miss something and whoever you're up against takes advantage of that. You need to relax. Let the Teen Titans do their job for once. Heck, we both know how obsessed John is with catching the demon that murdered his wife, but even _he _takes a break every once in a while."

Kim is silent, contemplating his words. She supposes he is not without evidence of his claims. She _has _been more tired as of late, and just the other day she almost made a fatal mistake due to fatigue clouding her judgment. She feels more refreshed this morning, most likely due to the additional hours of sleep she had gotten.

What surprises her the most, though, is the amount of concern the human boy sitting across from her is clearly expressing. Her mother and father, back in her own realm, are two very important beings. Not quite royal status, but they get by much better than the average citizen. They were regularly invited to attend events hosted by the king and queen, and all they cared about was maintaining an image. Kim was never to be seen associating with commoners because it made the family look unprofessional. Kim was never to wear two-legged bottoms because it was not acceptable for a young woman of her status. Kim was forbidden to meet her robot friend Gir because he was "scum" and artificial beings were looked down upon. Kim was forbidden to do this, forbidden to do that… Her parents did not care about _her. _They cared about the image she projected.

But Jack? This human that she's known for barely "two months?" (Jack says that is how long it has been. She has not quite become accustomed to the Earthean ways of naming the passage of time.) One who already had enough to deal with, what with finding ways to pay for the "apartment" in which he resides and food and attending his place of learning (he calls it "school") and giving children lessons in some form of self-defense that she does not know much about and being the informant of any hunter that requires his services… and yet, he offered her a place to live, helped her assimilate into Earthean culture, treats the various injuries that she has accumulated from fighting robbers and criminals, and has done everything he possibly can to try and get her back home…

"Many thanks, Jack," she says sincerely, compiling all of her thoughts into that one sentence.

He smiles, his nerves visibly disappearing. "You're welcome."

They eat in companionable silence.

* * *

><p>"This is called a mall," Jack says, walking into the large building and spreading his arms as if to display it all. "It's basically… well, everything. You can get food here, clothes, entertainment…"<p>

Kim turns around in a slow circle, wide-eyed and taking it all in. Everything is so bright, so colorful, garnering for attention. There is so much to see and take in! Over there is a cart of some sort, where a man is loudly advertising something called a "hot dog." Next to her is a store displaying a life-size statue of a female, wearing a top that barely covers her midriff. Up ahead is another display, with round things that have little red circles and other small items on it.

The closest thing she can relate it all to is a Market back home, and even that did not contain nearly as much of a sensory overload as this "mall."

"We can… go somewhere else, if you want," Jack says. She turns to him, noting his uncertainty. It confuses her. Why does he seem so nervous? What is he afraid of?

"No. I like it here," she reassures him, beaming. "It is… _amazing!" _She bounces, feeling slightly giddy from her excitement. "What will we do first?"

"Well, there's a bunch of movies starting at around six, so we can head to the theater then… until then, I guess we just wander around." He smiles at her. She smiles back.

"Then let us wander."

* * *

><p>Kim absolutely <em>adores <em>nerfels.

Jack says they are called "babies" on Earth. Whatever the name is, she really enjoys spending time with them. Holding a little bundle of life in her arms, or making one of them smile, or simply rocking one to sleep; they are all precious creatures that deserve affection and nurturing. So it is only natural that, when the wails of such a being, she gravitates towards the sound.

She finds two men at the source of the crying. The one holding the small human is rocking the young one back and forth in his arms. The two men are singing softly, but to no avail. Next to them is a small carriage of some sort, probably used to carry the baby so they would not have to hold it.

"She's so precious," Kim says softly, smiling down at the red-faced child. The two men look up at her, and she realized she probably startled them. "I am sorry if I startled you," she apologizes.

"It's alright," the man holding the baby says, smiling back at her. His voice is higher and softer than Kim imagined, but she doesn't let her surprise show. She finds that it fits his pale skin tone and clearly well-tended-to hair somehow.

"What is her name?" she asks.

"Elizabeth," the other man says. There is a fond smile on his face as well, but then he sighs. "She's been pretty cranky all day." Unlike the first man, his black curls run rampant over his head, and his skin is a tanned color.

"Her soul may be at unrest," Kim responds. "In which case one would need to connect with her on a spiritual level to put her at peace." She starts to reach a hand towards the child to do just that, but hesitates. On her planet, this would be completely appropriate, seeing as some people need some help to calm their nerfel. However, after an awkward situation involving a bathroom last week, Kim knows that social traditions are different on Earth. This may not be considered appropriate. "May I?" she asks, hovering her hand over the crying child's forehead.

The two men exchange glances. Kim fears that she may have crossed a boundary, before the man holding the baby nods. "Be my guest."

Kim rests her palm on the young human's forehead, closing her eyes. She clears her mind of all worries and frets, and instead fills her thoughts with everything that makes her happy. _The sunset. My bedroom. Earthean piano music. Holding a nerfel in my arms. Spending time with Gir. Jack… _ When she opens her eyes again, the child is giggling and the two men are staring at her.

"How did you do that?" the man not holding the baby says, his triangular eyebrows high on his forehead.

She smiles, but says nothing.

* * *

><p>"I didn't know you were good with kids," Jack says, after she walks away from the couple.<p>

Kim beams. "I adore nerfels! I mean…" What was the Earth word again? "Babies."

"Really?"

"Yes! The feeling of holding a little untainted bundle of life in your arms…" A small little smile presents itself as she reminisces about free hours spent at nurseries. "They don't judge you for past mistakes, because their memory has not developed enough to retain such information. They just love and trust and smile and laugh…" She gets lost in her thoughts for a few moments, before realizing what she is doing and looking up at her human companion. He is staring at her with a peculiar expression on his face that may or may not be disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Kim looks at him. His expression gives away nothing. She drops the matter, instead deciding to reflect back on the two men. "I wonder where the… _baby's _mother was." (She had hesitated for the split second that it had taken for her to remember the Earth term.)

"Those were her parents," he says. Jack seems suddenly tense, and she wonders why.

Kim blinks, not understanding. A nerfel has a matriarch and a patriarch, but they were both males. "How?"

"They're what we call a 'gay' couple."

"They're happy?"

"No… well, yes, they're happy, but the word is being used in a different context here. Being gay basically means you're a guy that likes other guys, instead of girls."

"Hmm," she says, thoughtful. The concept is foreign to her, but fascinating. "Well, then, how was the child conceived?"

"They probably adopted her," he responds.

She nods. It makes sense. Adoption is common back on her realm.

"They're not bad people," Jack suddenly says, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Kim frowns, wondering if she had indirectly suggested this in some form or fashion, because she never voiced that sentiment. Before she can respond, Jack says, "Some people are really against gays and same-sex couples, which I think is really stupid because people should be allowed to love whoever they want to love."

"I never meant to give you the impression that I was against them," Kim says, cutting in before he can say anything further.

"Oh. Ok," he says, seeming surprised. "So… you're okay with that, then?"

"I see no reason to be cruel to someone simply because of the gender they are attracted to," she responds. A reason for his defensiveness occurs to her, and she asks, "Are you gay?"

"What? No," he says. "I just… I know someone who is, and it makes me really mad whenever people hate on him for something he can't control."

"Ah," she says in understanding. "Well, I assure you, I am not one of those people."

Jack smiles. "Good." And they continue their exploration of the mall.

* * *

><p>"What is that?" Kim asks, warily eyeing the two strange Earthean consumables he had just purchased. They seem to be pale orange spheres occasionally dotted with a brown piece of… something. The spheres are both resting on top of cones made of some brown-yellow material.<p>

"Ice cream!" Jack says, grinning at her. His excitement is contagious and she offers a small smile in return, her uncertainty warded somewhat. "Special edition pumpkin pie flavor, since we're so close to Thanksgiving."

She has no idea what Thanksgiving is, but she decides to focus on the more important question. "Why would you turn cream into ice?" she asks, accepting the one he offers her and examining it.

"It's not really…" He pauses. "You know, I don't know exactly what ice cream is made of."

That alarms her, of course. "You mean you do not know the contents of what you are eating?! What if—"

"No, no, no, it's not like that," he amends quickly. "Like, I know it has milk, and a bit of salt, and some other stuff… just trust me, you'll like it." When he sees that she's still unsure, he holds up his own "ice cream" and licks it. He makes a pleased sound, before nodding at her to try hers.

She stares at him, searching for any signs of immediate death. When she does not find any, she looks back down at the… thing, in her hand. Jack would not feed her poison… would he? It has happened to her before. She trusted a stranger to get her drink and the woman had laced the rim of the goblet with a deadly powder. Jack is not an assassain, though. He is… Jack. With that thought in mind, she tries it.

The cold is what surprises her the most, and Jack laughs at her surprised exclamation. But then it warms up and melts a little in her mouth, and she finds that she enjoys the taste. Though she does not say anything (in favor of devouring the rest as fast as she can), her enthusiasm lets Jack know how she feels about it. The little brown pieces turn out to be some sort of crunchy food, a completely different texture from the cold mass.

She stares down at the ice cream at the bottom of the cone, frowning. She can not reach it without breaking the cone. Oh, the horror! Such a tragic turn of events! Why must she be tortured by that small remaining amount at the very bottom? Why—

"You can eat the cone, too," Jack says upon noticing her look of dismay. The amusement is evident in his voice. She devours the cone and successfully reaches the ice cream.

"That was the most wondrous thing I have ever had the pleasure of consuming," she says very seriously after she finishes. She has no idea why Jack starts laughing so hard.

* * *

><p>"So a movie is the Earthean ways of telling history in moving pictures?" Kim asks, as she and Jack exit the "movie theater." The "movie" had been a fascinating account of the Chitauri Invasion of Earth, shown from various unique perspectives. It proved to be an interesting learning experience to see for herself how the legendary Avengers responded.<p>

Jack seems confused at her question. "History?... Kim, _The Avengers _is a fictional story. It's just a movie. You know, for entertainment?"

Kim blinks. If he does not know about this, then just what are they teaching him in that "school" of his? "No, it is not. I am from Muspelheim, one of the Nine Realms. I was with a friend of mine when we learned of the battle between the Chitauri and the guardians of Midgard, or Earth." She cocks her head to the side. "You do not know of your own history?"

"Wait, wait, wait." She waits, not quite understanding why he had to say it three times. "So lemme get this straight. So what you're telling me is that what we just saw in there—" He points to the move theater."—_actually _happened?"

"Yes."

"But that's not possible. Those names that it showed at the end? Those are the names of the actors that portrayed the Hulk and Iron Man and Captain America, as well as the names of the people that _wrote _the _script _and the director that directed everything—"

"The movie was a reenactment, then," Kim responds dismissively. She cocks her head to the side slightly, thoughtful. "My friend Gir had a theory that Midgard is actually a series of pocket dimensions that run parallel to each other. If this is true, then the Earth in which those events took place is a completely different dimension, separate from this Earth. He would be able to explain this to you better than I… Jack, are you alright?"

He is leaning against a nearby wall, seemingly dumbstruck. Kim wonders for a couple of seconds if she broke his brain (she accidentally did that to Gir once; he had been attempting to retrieve a memory that had been repressed by his creator, and she unintentionally "broke" his brain. Granted, she had actually been _trying _to access an unknown part of his brain, so the odds of her breaking Jack's brain are slim).

Jack sighs and rubs a hand down his face (huzzah!). "This is just… a lot to take in."

Kim shrugs (an informal gesture she had picked up from him). "History tends to do that." A thought occurs to her, something that she had wondered about before. "While we are on the topic of history; Tony and Pepper, they… touched mouths." She cocks her head to the side. "Why?" The act had occurred a couple of times in the movie, and she wonders at the significance behind it.

She does not understand why Jack's face becomes red. She knows that the reddening of the human face is an involuntary show of embarrassment (or anger, or some other extreme emotion), but what about the inquiry embarrasses him? It was just a question, was it not? Unless she had unintentionally crossed another Earthean social boundary. How many of those will she have to learn?

"It's called 'kissing'…" he says slowly, as if he fears that speaking too fast will cause the wrong words to tumble out of his mouth. "And… people do it when they care about each other."

"I care about you," Kim says. She frowns. Should she have 'kissing' him at some point? Has she offended him by not doing so?

"In a different way," he responds. He pauses, struggling for an explanation. "They love each other."

"Do we not love everyone and everything?" Kim asks, frowning slightly. She had been taught to love everyone around her, as well as plants and animals and nature in general. That does not mean she will touch mouths with Gir's pet harfensat.

"No… well, I mean, we should, but it's deeper than that. It's a show of love on a deeper level, like…" He pauses, struggling to find the words, before brightening. "…boyfriend and girlfriend, or husband and wife! That's exactly how it is."

Kim's confusion only deepens. She doesn't attempt to decipher the meaning of the second set of words, instead focusing on the first. "I do not understand. We are friends. I am a girl. You are a boy. And we are friends, are we not?"

Jack shakes his head, frustration at the communication barrier evident. "No, we _are _friends! Just not… boyfriend and girlfriend. Those are like… _special _friends, who do couple-y stuff like holding hands and kissing and general shows of affection and stuff."

Kim stares at him blankly. "So we are not special. And… you do not have any affection towards me."

"We _are _special! It's just…" He sighs. "I have no idea how to explain this without hurting your feelings."

The blonde shrugs, attempting to appear nonchalant. "No. It is alright. I simply assumed we…" She trails off. What _did _she think? That this boy cared about her? She thought he did. She thought because he treated her well and nursed her injuries and helped her assimilate into this world… well, obviously she thought wrong. It is clear that Earthlings held their relationships in a lesser regard. She will never again make the mistake of seeing their relationship as something it is not.

"Kim…" Her fingers suddenly become incredibly interesting, and he sighs when she does not look at him. "Kim, please." He is begging. She suddenly realizes that she is probably being unfair, and that he is doing his best to explain a concept that he has probably never had to explain before, but her hurt feelings do not want to give him mercy.

"It's alright, Jack. Do not stress yourself. It seems to be another Midgardian custom I will never understand. Like yelling at the TV."

"Kim—"

"I no longer wish to discuss the subject, please."

He sighs, but falls silent.

* * *

><p>Jack stops to have a short conversation with two men that Kim does not recognize. One is tall, taller than even Jack by a few inches, and has hair similar to the teen's. The other one is taller than Jack as well, but shorter than the first, and has short, spiky hair. They mention something about a "hunt" and a "demon," but Kim is not close enough to hear their whole conversation since she is pretending to look at clothes.<p>

The shorter man makes a comment that has Jack sputtering indignantly, resulting in the laughter of both men. When she looks over, Jack's cheeks are bright red, and she wonders what had been discussed.

* * *

><p>"Hi. My name's Eddie."<p>

"Yo, guys, I'm Jerry."

"Hello. My name is Milton."

"Hey, I'm Jack."

"Greetings. My name is Kimia'turontac, but Jack claims this is too hard to pronounce so he calls me Kim."

The three other teens in the room display various stages of surprise and slight confusion on their faces. Kim had seen a man advertising a "meet and greet," claiming that anyone who participates could make a new friend. Despite Jack's reluctance, she had wanted to do it, and here they are; both of them, in a "soundproof" room with three other people about their age and a timer on the wall counting down from one hour.

"Uh, she's not from around here," Jack explains.

"Really?" the one with brown-orange hair (Milton?) says, curious. "Where are you from?"

"Muspelheim," she responds, before realizing she probably should not have revealed that.

"A really small village in Germany," Jack says, mending her mistake.

"Oh." Milton nods. "Cool. Well, I'm here because my girlfriend says I'm too antisocial." There is that term again. Girlfriend. She glances as Jack, but he doesn't notice.

"I got nothin' better to do," the one called Jerry speaks up. He shrugs. "Might as well kill time here."

"Honestly? I'm hiding out from my mom," the dark-skinned teenager named Eddie says (while Kim is pondering over why 'Jerry' would want to murder a concept that is not tangible).

"We're here because Kim wanted to meet new people," Jack says.

"Kim, eh?" Jerry asks, a strange grin on his face. "What it do, girl?"

Kim blinks, shaken out of her musings only to be introduced with another confusing phrase. "What did what do?"

"Um… nothing," Jerry responds, suddenly seeming nervous. Kim isn't sure why until she notices Jack's glare in the other teen's direction.

"You said you were here to escape from your mother," Kim says to Eddie, pushing Jack's suddenly hostile expression towards Jerry to the back of her mind. "Why?"

"She wants me to take lessons at some dance academy," the dark-skinned boy responds, frowning. "My body was _not _made to mamba!"

"What would you rather be doing?" Milton asks.

"Taking karate so bullies don't beat me up for going to a dance academy," Eddie responds, frowning.

Kim stands up, immediately outraged. People would _dare _lay a hand on this kind, clearly shy boy seemed like he'd never hurt anyone?! "Who are these _bullies? _I will crush them for even _thinking _about harming my new friend!"

This time, all the males in the room seem startled by her statement, instead of just the three that she hadn't known prior to this. "Friend?" Eddie echoes.

Kim blinks. "Well, yes. We came here to make friends, did we not? I assumed that we already were by simply being here."

Milton smiles. "Aww, that's sweet."

Kim frowns, once again confused. She sits back down. "I do not understand. It was a statement, not some confectionary consumable. How was it sweet?"

"It's just a figure of speech, Kim," Jack says. To the others, he says, "She's pretty… _out of touch, _with normal social exchanges."

"I'd be glad to get _in _touch," Jerry says, waggling his eyebrows for some strange reason. He cowers slightly when, once again, Jack fixes him with a glare. "Heh, heh… Eddie! You said you take karate, right?"

"Well, it's mostly my grandpa that teaches me, so I'm looking for a dojo."

"You should join Bobby Wasabi," Milton, Jerry, and Jack all say at once. They look at each other in surprise. "You guys go there? Yeah, Rudy's a friend. Really? Mine, too. Okay, this is getting pretty creepy." The three of them had said all of it in perfect synchronization and, to be honest, Kim finds it a bit unsettling as well.

Realizing that they all had a common interest (Kim found the martial artist's way of defense fascinating, so she had asked Jack to teach her a bit of what he knew after stopping by the dojo earlier), the teens fall into easy conversation. Before they know it, the one hour is up and the time had come for someone else to enter the room.

"We gotta get Rudy to put us all in the same class," Milton says, as the exit door opens and the five of them walk out of the room. They exit the "meet and greet" area and walk towards the main part of the mall.

"Definitely," Jack says, smiling. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Hey…" Eddie says, getting their attention. "Where is everybody?"

Kim looks around, noting for the first time the lack of people anywhere in sight. Stores are empty, carts stand abandoned, and there is absolute silence. She finds it quite eerie.

"Okay," Jerry says. "This is weirder than the dream I had about the zompyr invasion."

"Zompyr?" Kim asks, alarmed at the mention of an invasion.

"We can talk about that later," Jack interrupts. Kim looks at him and finds that he seems wary. "We should probably get out of here."

"Wait, I think there's someone over there," Eddie says, squinting at some spot off to Kim's right. She turns and sees that there is, in fact, a figure walking away from them.

"HEY!" Jerry yells, the sudden volume startling the blonde. "WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!"

The unknown person whips around, before running towards them. Upon arriving in front of them, he says, "Thank god I'm not the only one here," he says. "I have no idea what's going on. I was just in the bathroom and when I walked out, no one was here!"

Kim frowns. Her instinct tells her not to trust this man, and her instinct has rarely been wrong. However, she has no idea how to voice her suspicion to her companions without alarming them or letting the man know.

"Huh. Maybe an alarm or something went off and we didn't hear it?" Milton asks. "In which case, we probably should get out of here, like Jack said."

"Where's the exit again?" Eddie asks.

"Over there," Jerry says, pointing. The teens move to leave.

"Wait!" the man says. They pause and turn back to him. "Uh… what if there's other people here?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asks, seemingly oblivious of the man's hesitation. Kim narrows her eyes.

"Well, if there's other people like us, then they didn't hear the alarm, and they might be in danger!"

"He's right," Eddie says, frowning. "Well, what do we do?"

"I say we go to the bank around the corner," the man says, pointing. "The central office of the mall is connected to it."

"And how might you know that?" Kim asks, speaking to him for the first time. "As far as I am aware, normal patrons of a business center aren't provided the opportunity to learn where the head of the center is."

The man seems slightly nervous at her question. "I, uh… my cousin works here! Yeah, he's a, he's a security guard."

Kim has never heard the term "security guard" before, but she is familiar with either individual word, so she guesses at the meaning. "Then why is your cousin The Guard not handling the situation?"

"He's… not working today."

"What about other guards? Surely he can not be the only 'security guard' here."

The man frowns at her. "I don't like the tone you're using with me, young lady," he says, but Kim recognizes the voice of someone not used to using their power of authority.

"And I do not appreciate your false stories, so I guess we are both even," Kim says coolly.

"Whoa, _chillax_, mamacita," Jerry says, seeming surprised at her hostility. "He's just trying to help."

Kim narrows her eyes, but comments no further.

"Lead the way to the bank, then," Milton says. The man starts walking, and the five teens follow him (Kim reluctantly doing so).

"What is your problem?" Jack asks quietly. The two of them are in the back, so they cannot be overheard by their companions.

"I do not trust him," Kim responds.

"Why? He hasn't _done _anything."

"He seems suspicious."

"_How?_"

"It is difficult to explain."

Before Jack can say anything in response, they have arrived at the "bank." The man holds open the door for the teens, forcing Jack to fall quiet.

"It's through that door over there," the man says from behind them. Milton pushes it open.

Inside are a wall of small TV screens, each depicting a scene from somewhere in the mall. Kim assumes that the "central office" is a surveillance room of sorts, which makes sense considering the vastness of the mall.

From around the corner, a part of the room not visible to anyone just walking in, a man is walking towards the screens. Upon taking notice of them, he swears and quickly points an object at them.

A gun.

* * *

><p>"So… are we just gonna sit here?" Jerry asks.<p>

The other ten people in the room stare at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a blonde girl sitting near Kim says. "You wanna stretch your legs? Go right ahead. Oh wait. You can't. _Because you're tied up!"_

Kim is not sure why she apologized at first, before realizing that she had used sarcasm. Jack had warned Kim about that, though he rarely used it with her.

"Sam, be nice," a male teen sitting next to the other blonde says. To the rest of the room, he says, "Sorry. She's just really cranky."

"Uh, _hello? _Have you _forgotten _that we've been _tied up?!"_

"No, but you don't have to be rude about it."

"Then how do you expect me to act?"

"Not snapping at other people!"

"Ignore them," the brunette sitting next to the two say, as the teens begin to squabble. "They always fight like that." She sighs. "So, since we're gonna be here for a while, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Carly." She motions with her head to her friends. "She's Sam, he's Freddie."

"I'm Bree."

"Chase."

"Adam!"

"Name's Jerry."

"Eddie."

"Milton."

"Jack."

"My name is Kim."

"So. Any ideas on how to get out of this mess?"

"I could deal with them," Kim says, shrugging as she tests the unnaturally strong rope binding her hands behind her back. Not wanting to dislocate her shoulder by attempting to break the rope using brute force, she looks around the room for a sharp object.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Chase asks, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know if you've noticed, but they have _guns._"

She scoffs. "Guns are—" She pauses, glancing back at Jack and noting the look he is giving her. "I have experience," she amends.

"Doing what?" Milton asks.

"I am… not very comfortable elaborating."

There are six people who have taken over the mall. Their purpose is simple: raid all the stores, take as much money as possible, and grab anything worth interest while they're at it. Unfortunately, the eleven teens had been at various spots in the mall that did not contain speakers, which meant that they did not hear when the criminals established their presence and demanded that everyone get out. The man they had run into who had been in the "bathroom" was one of these robbers.

Which is why they find themselves in this situation.

"Then how exactly are you going to 'deal with them?'" Chase asks. She looks at him, really looks at him. Unlike Milton, he does not ask his questions out of curiosity. His tone is full of skepticism. Wariness. He is suspicious of her.

"There is no malice behind my intentions," she says. "I simply wish to escape from here, and I am sure you all want the same."

Chase frowns. "I never said—"

"It was implied."

Her critical scan of the room yields nothing useful. She sighs, before realizing… "Eddie."

"Hmm?"

"The chair you are sitting on… it is made of wood, is it not?"

"Uh, I think so. Why?"

"Could you relocate to the ground, please?"

"Okay?" He shifts off the chair, landing on the ground with a soft _thud. _"Ow."

At that moment, one of the robbers walks in. Kim curses silently to herself for not listening for footsteps. "Hey, what's going on in here?"

"Uh… I fell."

The man narrows his eyes. "Right. Well, whatever you guys are up to, stop it." He barely gives a glance to the arguing Sam and Freddie (as they had been quarreling the last three times he had checked on them) and leaves the room.

Knowing that they have twenty minutes before the man comes and checks on them again, Kim acts fast. She leaps to her feet (hurting her side in the process, as it is difficult to get to one's feet when said feet are bound together, as well as the hands) and hops over to the chair. She sits down again next to it and maneuvers it between her legs, and…

_Crack!_

She breaks one of the legs off. The sound is loud enough to get Sam and Freddie's attention, but not so much that the guard comes running. The others watch in fascination as she braces the chair leg against the wall, and slices through her ropes with it. The other teens cheer (mindful of their volume) with the exception of Adam.

"Wait, we were trying to break the rope?" he asks. "I did that _ages _ago."

"What?!" Bree exclaims. "Why didn't you _say _something?!"

"Because no one else was untying themselves! I didn't know _I _was supposed to!"

Everyone stares at the teen.

"Untie your feet then," Kim finally says, "and assist me in freeing everyone else."

After this has been done, they all stand.

"Now what?" Carly asks.

"Well," Kim says, thinking. "We are not at an advantage here. There is no way to tell if there is someone outside the door, or where the people are."

"Actually," Chase says. He seems hesitant, and he looks over at Bree and Adam. They exchange glances, before looking back at Chase and nodding almost imperceptibly. "There is."

* * *

><p>"So, lemme get this straight," Sam says. "You three," she points at Adam, Bree, and Chase, "are 'bionic.'"<p>

The three of them nod.

"And you're an alien chick that was transported here after some freak accident," Sam says to Kim.

Kim nods. "That is correct." After Chase revealed that he and his siblings had superior abilities, Kim thought it was only fair to do the same. So now, everyone in the room knows.

"How did you guys get _caught _then?!"

"Well, our dad recently installed new app thing called 'Unity,' which basically connects us mentally," Bree says. "It's really useful on missions whenever we need to talk to each other without being overheard, or warn each other, and some really other handy stuff. The _bad _thing is that share each other's physical state. One of those guys surprised Adam and knocked him out, and Chase and I passed out right after."

"I did not want to risk one of my friends getting shot, because the men threatened to do so if we 'tried any funny business," Kim says.

"Okay, that's fair. Chase, you said you have an infrared sensor? About how far can it read?" Milton asks.

"Roughly two hundred feet in any direction if there are no obstacles, like on a field or something," he responds. "But the distance is a lot smaller when there's something in the way, like a wall."

"Do the best you can," Freddie says.

Chase nods, and stares intently at the door. He then slowly looks around, through the wall and beyond.

"There's three of them in the bank," Chase says. "One is in the surveillance room, and two are just sitting in the main lobby. I can't see any past the entrance."

"Okay," Kim says. "That's easy enough." She starts to move towards the door.

"Uh, no," Jack says stepping in her way. "Are you really just gonna go out there on your own?"

The two of them both know she can easily move him out of the way if she wishes, but Jack is obviously ignoring this fact. "That was my intention, yes," Kim responds, slightly amused.

"At least let us come with you," Bree says. "I can totally zip in there and back in no time."

Kim frowns, not used to others being willing to help her. "I can address the issue on my own." Her head jerks up as her sensitive ears hear one of the men coming towards the room. "Someone is approaching!"

* * *

><p>The robber opens the door, peering into the room and narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He could have <em>sworn <em>he heard them moving around and talking just now, but nothing seems amiss. They're all in the same places they were before. He chalks it up to his paranoia and annoyance that he got stuck with babysitting, and leaves the room.

If he had looked closer, he would have noticed that none of their feet were tied.

* * *

><p>The man has a really bad feeling, so he walks back into the room five minutes later.<p>

The eleven teens are all standing in a circle. When he opens the door, they stare at him. He stares back at them. He starts to yell, but isn't able to get his gun up in time before one of the blonde girls is on him.

"I do not desire to hold this," Kim says, holding the gun by its end as she moves away from the man's now unconscious form. She does not relish the contact, and does not wish to prolong it longer than she has to. Sam takes the gun from her, fiddling with it until something comes out. She examines it, before pushing it back in. She looks back up and notices everyone staring at her.

"What? Ya'll've never had to check how many bullets are in a gun before?" she asks with a grin.

"Well, normally teenagers don't know how to do that, so… my answer is no," Eddie says.

"Someone may have heard him yell," Carly says, calmly pushing Sam's hands down after the blonde raises them to aim the gun at the unconscious man. (Said blonde pouts, but does not raise the gun again.)

Kim cocks her head to the side, listening. She hears a soft sound from right outside the door (which had closed at some point) and frowns, not recognizing it. She realizes what it is at the last second and steps in front of the door just as it bursts open and someone shoots.

* * *

><p>To Jack, the next few seconds pass by in a blur.<p>

Kim goes down.

Sam aims the gun at the door and fires.

Adam, Bree, and Chase leap into action, jumping over the downed man that Sam has just shot.

Carly and Jerry scream and duck.

Freddie and Milton immediately go to check on Kim.

And Jack himself tackles Eddie, the closest person to him, to the ground.

"Holy crap," Eddie breathes. Sam whoops in delight and goes off after the three bionic siblings. Carly is crying and her leg is bleeding and Jerry is attempting to sooth her, but Jack doesn't look at any of that, because _Kim _is _shot _and okay Carly got shot, too, and Milton as well, from the looks of it, because he's holding his side, but none of those seem _life threatening _and Kim is on the ground _not moving _and Jack is flipping out.

"Where'd it hit her?" he asks breathlessly once he reaches her side.

"Right under her ribs," Milton responds. His brow is furrowed as he presses his hands down on Kim's injury to slow the blood flow, and whether it's in pain from his own bullet wound or concentration on Kim's, Jack isn't sure.

"I'm gonna go see if we can find our phones," Freddie says, standing up and running off, and Jack remembers that the robbers had taken their phones before tying them up. _Robbers. _If Jack gets his hands on those jerks then they are going to wish they were never born, but he can do that later.

"Kim," Jack says, grabbing her hand. She seems barely conscious, but rolls her head towards Jack at the sound of her name.

"Jack?" She paws weakly at Milton with her other hand. "Tell him… tell him to relinquish the pressure… on the injury. He is… preventing it from healing…"

"What? No, Kim, you're going to bleed out even faster if he does that," Jack responds, his heart aching as she squirms in pain.

"No… serious injuries are different…" She grabs Milton's wrist and squeezes hard enough for him to instinctively release. She rolls away from the two of them before they can grab her again, on one hand and her knees. Her other hand gingerly cups her injury.

Jack starts to move towards him, but Milton holds him back. Jack glares at the redhead, who ignores him. Kim grimaces, a pained expression on her face for a few seconds, then removes her hand from her wound.

In her hand is a bloodied and crushed bullet.

Milton and Jack stare at her.

"That was unpleasant," she says, sitting back on her heels and wincing. She looks up at Jack. "If serious injury befalls me, my body quickly takes care of it. I had reason to believe you already knew this." She lets out a little _"Oof!" _of surprise when Jack practically tackles her in a hug.

"Don't _ever _do that again!" he says, his words muffled by her hair.

She blinks, before awkwardly patting him on the back. "Jack, I've been shot at before."

"Yeah, but you've never _actually _been _shot!" _

"Yeah? Well, I haven't either," Milton huffs, and Jack suddenly remembers the redhead and Carly's injuries. "So let's get out of here."

* * *

><p><strong><em>One week later…<em>**

"So… Heaven is a closet?"

"No," Jack says, seeming sheepish. He pauses, considering. "Heaven isn't a closet… well, at least I don't think it is."

Kim's brows furrows in confusion. "Then why is the title of the game 'Seven Minutes in Heaven?'"

"Because… for the sake of the game, the closet is called Heaven, and we're supposed to spend seven minutes in it."

This seems very pointless. Why had Carly and Bree been so excited when the bottle selected her and Jack? "Why? What is the objective of the game?"

Though Jack was standing across the room (which is really the accurate way to describe the "closet," since the room was almost as big as Jack's entire apartment. She supposes this fact can be attributed to the wealth of the Davenports.), she can sense his distinctly uncomfortable expression. "I guess to get two people inside together or something?"

"'Together?'" she echoes, tracking his slow walk around the room.

He has reached her side of the room, and stops in front of her to elaborate. "Yeah. Together. You know… a couple? Like Sam and Freddie."

Sam. She had grown very close to her fellow blonde. Despite the other girl's tough, devil-may care, and at times abrasive personality, Kim sensed a deep and dark feeling within the other girl, something that she can only define as _sad. _After expressing this sentiment with the other girl, Sam had surprisingly opened up. It turns out that they both shared a wide emotional distance from their respective parents. Kim's wanted her to be something she wasn't and could care less about anything beyond that image, and Sam's could care less, period.

After that, their friendship had just blossomed from there. Granted, Sam still spent more time with Carly than with Kim, since the blonde and brunette shared a bond that had been there since childhood, but Kim knows that she can go to Sam with her problems if need be.

That's not to say she had not forged friendships with the other people she and Jack had met at the mall last week; Freddie, Milton, and Chase all love explaining various aspects of Earth science to her. Eddie and Kim both shared a love of pizza dipped in ranch, a preference that the others found disgusting. Jerry liked to amuse himself by teaching her various phrases in Spanish. Bree and Carly enjoyed doing "girly" things together, like painting nails and braiding hair. Adam and Dean seemed determined to get her to try everything on Adam's list of "Incredible Edibles." And Male-Sam liked hearing about where she came from and astrology in general.

Kim recalls a discussion she and Female-Sam had had earlier that evening, along with Bree and Carly. It had occurred right before the 'Gigantic-Mega-Epic-Sleepover' (deemed so by Adam) had begun. She had gone to the other blonde to confess some confusing emotions she held for Jack, and Bree and Carly happened to overhear and join in. Carly and Bree had chattered excitedly, repeatedly mentioning the words "cute," "oh-emm-eff-gee" (Kim is not sure of the meaning of that), "adorable," and "finally." (They had also used these words during viewings of "rom-coms," a genre of film that Bree and Carly seemed quite fond of but that Kim herself does not really see the point of. Though, the phrases are normally uttered when the two main characters kiss.)

Sam had finally gotten them to quiet down and reassured her that these feelings were reciprocated, and she just had to… "make a move?" Kim is not sure of the exact phrasing, but Carly said to do what felt right, and Bree mentioned that "a kiss wouldn't hurt." And Kim supposes now, away from the eyes of their new friends, is the perfect opportunity.

"Kim?" Jack asks uncertainly when Kim moves forward and places a hand on his chest. "Um… whatcha doin'?"

Kim chooses not to respond, instead trying to recall what Sam had done earlier upon the arrival of Freddie. The other girl had moved her hand up Freddie's chest and then hooked it around his neck…

"Kim?" Jack says again. He inhales sharply as she follows through with the action. His voice sounds different this time… slightly strangled. Strange. Sam — the male, adult Sam, who's last name is Winchester — had sounded the same way a few days ago. Grated, it was because she had pinned him to a table by the throat when she suspected that he was a Dark Elf in disguise, after sensing a familiar dark power within him. But this was not the pained tone that Sam's voice had; it was different.

"I have felt some… _puzzling _emotions concerning you, as of late," Kim says quietly, staring into his eyes and bringing her other hand up to cup his jaw.

"Yeah?" he responds, and his voice is even tighter. Kim wonders if this is the effect she has on him; Sam had mentioned that Jack was "practically a lovesick puppy" that "wagged his tail" every time he saw her. Jack lacks a tail to wag, though, so Kim supposes this is close enough. Right?

"Mm-hmm," Kim hums affirmatively. She tilts her head up towards his slightly, her lips ghosting over his as she speaks. "And I have been told that these feelings are reciprocated?"

"Uh…" He lets out a nervous, breathy laugh. "Who told you that?"

Kim does not answer, in favor of pressing a short, tentative kiss to his lips, her eyes sliding shut. Despite the reassurance of the girls, she is not positive that Jack feels the same way.

"Please tell me you're doing this on your own and that Bree or Carly didn't put you up to it," he says in the span of one breath after she pulls away.

"No," Kim responds, confused. "Why would—?"

"Nothing," he says with a smile. "Forget I asked." And just like that, he is gently pulling her flush against him and leaning down again.

* * *

><p>"Wow. She <em>actually <em>did it," Eddie says, staring in surprise at the screen as Freddie fiddles with the settings to clear up the video feed.

"Heh heh, Jackie's got a _girlfriend_!" Dean laughs childishly. He, Jerry, and Female-Sam high five, while Bree and Carly squeal behind them.

"Okay, can we stop invading their privacy now?" Male Sam asks.

"Yeah, let 'em have their moment," Chase agrees.

"Oh, you're just mad that your calculations were wrong," Milton says, grinning.

"It's not my fault that logic said they should have kissed two minutes ago," Chase grumbles in response.

"This was totally worth the money in Chase's wallet," Adam says, grinning.

"What?!"

"I couldn't find my wallet, so I used your money to bribe Eddy— not you, Eddie, robot Eddy."

"He's an _AI_! What is he going to do with _money_?!"

"Trick out his robot car," Jerry says. "Duh."

_"__Robot car?" _

"You didn't know about the robot car?" Freddie and Female-Sam ask.

"Everyone knew about the robot car," Carly says.

"Yeah. He used your laptop to make it," Bree says.

"_That's _where that went?!"

"Yeah, man. Where have you been?" Leo asks.

_"_Leo?! When did you even—"

"I've been here for the whole oneshot."

"What?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>God, that ending. I had no idea how to end it. No idea. And, a bunch of different shows appeared in this! :) They're: Kickin' It (obviously), Teen Titans (they're mentioned), Avengers (mentioned a few times, and Kim is from one of the other Nine Realms), Glee (Kurt and Blaine are they gay couple), Supernatural (John is mentioned, and Sam and Dean make appearances), Lab Rats (duh), and iCarly (double duh). <strong>

**I thought I'd upload this since I haven't posted anything for a while. Okay. That's it. Bye. OH! WAIT! I FORGOT. I changed my name. I am now Baby HEDGEHOG instead of Baby PORCUPINE, since my profile pic/avatar is a hedgehog. Okay, bye for realzies this time.**

**Until next time,**

**~BH**


End file.
